Thu, 2 May 2024

  

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ADVENTURES > O.C.I. > LANI GROWS UP

Little Lani is slowly becoming bigger and has just celebrated her first birthday. She was and remains to be a very sweet girl. Diligently she plays with a Burmese girl that is practically the same age. Of course we can't forget her “adoptive” mum, whom she loves very much and where she goes to suckle frequently. She's very good in communicating and she just loves to talk. But the voice she uses to do that would not be misplaced with a mouse. She makes little, short squeaks. Very funny.

In the meantime a litter of Burmese has been born in my house. It's the first time that Lani witnesses this. She is therefor insecure, very careful, but still quite curious. That her best friend is also new at this and just as insecure, doesn't help her. Together they watch and hiss at those strange little things with the weird smell and unfamiliar noises. And when they spook each other, they hiss a bit too.

The curiosity is stimulated by a mother cat that not only has interesting babies, but also eats interesting food. Lani would love to have some too, as she appreciates good food. She jumps in to the box where the kittens are to see if she can get hold of something yummy. But she remains aware of the fact that those little ones are still very scary.

How much so I find out when I lift her out of the box. She probably didn't see me coming and when I put my hands on her I hear a dangerous and loud growl. All of a sudden she resembles her wild cousins more than you can imagine. But she lets me handle her without any problem and as soon as I let her go, she's quiet again. Even appreciates it when I caress her head.

The little ones develop nicely and keep growing steadily. Lani's curiosity keeps growing as well. When the kittens are 3 weeks old, she regularly goes into the box to see what is going on. When they crawl towards her, she is unsure what to do. When they get that close, they are very scary. In the end she leaves the box before they get too close.

Then she discovers the milk that I use to hand feed one of the kittens and it smells very interesting. Of course she isn't allowed to disturb the feeding of come anywhere near the milk, just as the other cats. After a few little tabs she knows her place. Until I finish feeding the kitten. Then she steps smack forward and washes all the spilled milk from the kittens face. That is by all means a very pleasant thing, because she cleans the baby up very well. At the same time she manages – very cleverly – to get hold of some delicious stuff.

I think it is wonderful to see how caring and cautious she is with the kittens. It is also a nice exercise for later times, when she will have some kittens of her own. It's with good reason they say: practice makes perfect.

A few weeks later I find myself puzzled at what I see and it seems i need to revoke my last few words. Lani is in the box with the kittens. I thought she was washing them, but it's clear she's doing something very different now. Enthusiastically she is trying – most fondly – to demolish a kitten. She bites it, grabs hold of it and rolls back and forth with it. That doesn't seem quite right. As soon as I ask her to be careful with the little one, she lets go of him. Only to wholeheartedly go on a moment later. The kitten doesn't make a sound and what do I see? As soon as Lani lets go of him, he turns towards her to bite her back and tries to grab her. He is clearly enjoying this as much as she is.

My little girl is really growing up, how time flies. In my memory it seems only yesterday that she was born and look at her now. Already abundantly practicing to become a fantastic mother of (hopefully) babies that are just as beautiful as she is in the future. I can hardly wait to see and experience it and share that with you. But we will have to be patient, for it will be a while before all that will happen. First she is allowed to grow and mature a little further.

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